The
prevalence of
cholelithiasis in Jamaican
adults with SS
disease was studied by plain abdominal radiograph in 206
patients and by oral cholecystogram in 126 (61 percent) of these
patients.
Gallstones were found in 57 (28 percent of
patients, were more common in
females than
males, and increased with age and hemolytic rate. The majority of
gallstones were visible on the plain abdominal radiograph, only 17 percent of
patients with
gallstones having only radiolucent stones. Nonfunctioning oral cholecystograms were common (10 percent) in agreement with observations by previous
workers.
Gallstones were noted in the
common bile duct in 2
patients. In general there was no clear relationship between the presence of
cholelithiasis and clinical
symptomatology.
Complications, such as
pancreatitis and malignant change in the gall
bladder, recognized to be associated with
cholelithiasis in the general
population, have not been clearly related to
cholelithiasis in SS
disease. More information is needed before a logical
policy can be evolved for surgical intervention in
cholelithiasis in SS
disease. (AU)